The Saudi Credit and Savings Bank (SCSB) has decided to increase the number of interest-free family loans to 500,000 citizens as well as opening 12 new branches across the Kingdom. The expansion marks an increase of 100 percent from 2008, said Abdulrahman Al-Khayyal, general supervisor of development and investment at the SCSB. The bank currently has 25 branches across the Kingdom. The SCSB has offered nearly 800,000 loans since its recent extension and development of loan operations. Up to the 2006, the bank had only approved 522,787 loans worth SR9 billion since its establishment in 1971. It would then take years for an applicant to receive the loan amid long waiting lists and complicated lending procedures. Applicants can apply online for loans related to family needs, including marriages and home maintenance, through the SCSB website www.scb.gov.sa. The bank is planning to expand its lending tree to provide small business loans, Al-Khayyal said. A source at the bank's main branch in the Eastern Province said more branches will be open across the province starting with Qateef and other cities, if needed. The main branch in the province processes nearly 400 loan applications a day, double the number it used to process a few months ago, the source said. The bank will receive a deposit of SR10 billion from the new 2009-2010 state budget allocations. In October King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, announced that SR10 billion ($2.7 billion) would be allocated to the SCSB in order to enable it to help hundreds of thousands of citizens obtain private loans.
